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A Museum for the New Century

Highline has a rich heritage to share - from our fire and ice-filled archaeological past, dynamic Native American cultures, and pioneers with extraordinary vision - to recent and present day leaders committed to bringing our communities into the 21st century as good places to live, raise our families and conduct business. Unlike the traditional museums of the mid-1900’s, focused on acquiring collections and putting them on exhibit in glass cases - the museum of the new century is a place that preserves the past by telling stories about a particular place, time or event. In fact, at our new Highline Heritage Museum we will truly be able to say “History Happens Here!”

Heritage Preserved

The most basic function of museums is to preserve the heritage of our community through the collection and care of objects, photographs, books and documents. Since 1985, Highline residents have entrusted first Friends of the Highline School District Museum, and more recently the Highline Historical Society, with over 15,000 individual objects, 60,000 negatives and photos and hundreds of linear feet of archives, which represent the collective memory of our community.
Trolley Theater
Proposed Trolley Theater for the new museum

The Challenge

The Society has taken advantage of a window of opportunity to purchase the building at 819 SW 152nd Street in Burien and found an historical museum. The Historical Society collections need to be located in a secure, appropriate facility. A permanent home for the archives and collections will make it possible to install permanent exhibits, book travelling exhibitions and encourage future acquisitions of historical objects. With a new building, built to contemporary museum standards, a regional museum that is a credit to our communities will be established.

The Highline Schools Exhibit Wall

  Schools are the heart of a community. A comprehensive timeline and historical exhibit featuring our Highline schools is being planned. Identified as possibly the best schools collection in the state, items from the museum's schools collections dating back to the late 1800s will refresh memories for long-time residents and acquaint new residents and visitors with the history of education in our region.

The Camp Waskowitz Exhibit

  Classroom visits to the museum will help prepare students for their experience at this much-loved facility, and thousands and thousands of former students will relive their younger years at Camp Waskowitz. The 1951 Chevrolet Suburban was used to survey the camp when it was first acquired by the Highline School District.

Results of the Museum Survey